Content

We all have challenges present in our lives that we struggle with daily; whether it be infertility, a special needs child, financial stress, an impending divorce, or any of the other various difficulties that can be front and center. While we receive our individual life assignments for whatever reason, they say that G-d never gives us more than we can handle. However, I am nearly 100% certain I am not alone when I find myself saying, “I wish he didn’t have so much faith in me.”

Sometimes I look at other families with four or more healthy children and for a split second, I imagine what that life would be like. I look on with envy when I see other babies participating in age appropriate behaviors and activities. While it always elicits a huge smile, it makes me a bit sad deep in the pit of my stomach. I think about how much easier my daily routine would be without so many doctors’ appointments, therapies, and medication reminders. Then the thought presents itself as an “aha moment”, everyone is faced with his/her own struggles. It is true that the grass always appears greener on the other side.

In my moment of superficial judgement, I am missing the entire story. The parents with the four healthy children might have lost others in their journey to conceive. Maybe the same couple spent an insane amount of time, money, and energy in efforts to have them all in the first place, Maybe those children had a sibling who is no longer present to play with them. That healthy child playing age appropriately who makes me smile might have an “invisible illness”. My day whilst not spent inundated in the special needs world, would surely be filled with other responsibilities that I am sure I would find just as challenging to balance if not more.

We tell ourselves if we did not have to face our personal challenges, our life would be infinitely easier. We tell ourselves this because the alternative is unknown and we can create a fantasy in our minds of how our life might look, how we think we want it to look. We assume our life would be simpler, happier, greater, maybe even better as a whole if we “could just be like ____ “. We can imagine that the other person has it better. What I think would happen if any of us traded spaces with one another? We would find we are content with what we were given.